NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday witnessed a demand for renaming West Bengal as ‘Bangla’, with an argument that the new name would better reflect the state’s history and culture. The Upper House also witnessed demands by several other members of other parties on their respective concerns. During a Zero Hour mention, TMC MP Ritabrata Banerjee highlighted that the West Bengal Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution in July 2018 calling for the name change, but the Centre had yet to approve it. He also noted that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging that the re-naming would align with the state’s history, culture, and identity while reflecting the aspirations of its people. Banerjee had pointed out that ‘there is no East Pakistan today,’ emphasising that the state’s name should be updated to reflect modern realities. He further argued that “the mandate of the people of West Bengal needs to be honoured.” The last instance of a state name change occurred in 2011, when Orissa became Odisha. Over the years, several cities have undergone name changes, including Bombay to Mumbai in 1995, Madras to Chennai in 1996, Calcutta to Kolkata in 2001, and Bangalore to Bengaluru in 2014.
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